The annual suicide mortality rate among those with epilepsy is 22% higher than that in the general population, according to a report in the August issue of Epilepsy and Behavior. Researchers estimated that the annual suicide mortality rate in those with epilepsy during the period from 2003 through 2011 was 16.89 per 100,000 persons.
Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta studied the prevalence of suicide among people with epilepsy, compared with that in the population overall. This is the first study to estimate suicide rates among people with epilepsy in a large US general population. The researchers also investigated epilepsy-specific suicide risk factors.
Dale Hesdorffer, PhD
The study, coauthored by Dale Hesdorffer, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, was based on data from the US National Violent Death Reporting System, a multistate, population-based surveillance system that collects information on violent deaths, including suicide. From 2003 through 2011, the researchers identified, among people age 10 and older, 972 suicide cases with epilepsy and 81,529 suicide cases without epilepsy in 17 states. The investigators estimated suicide rates, evaluated suicide risk among people with epilepsy, and investigated suicide risk factors specific to epilepsy by comparing people with and without epilepsy. In 16 of the 17 states providing continual data from 2005 through 2011, they also compared suicide trends in people with and without epilepsy.
Compared with the non-epilepsy population, those with epilepsy were more likely to have died from suicide in houses, apartments, or residential institutions (81% vs 76%) and were more than twice as likely to poison themselves (38% vs 17%). More people with epilepsy ages 40 to 49 died from suicide than persons without epilepsy in the same age group (29% vs 22%). The proportion of suicides among those with epilepsy increased steadily from 2005 through 2010.
“Of particular significance is what we learned about those 40 to 49 years old,” said Dr. Hesdorffer. “Efforts for suicide prevention should target people with epilepsy in this age category specifically. Additional preventive efforts should include reducing the availability or exposure to poisons, especially at home, and supporting other evidence-based programs to reduce mental illness comorbidity associated with suicide.”
Suggested Reading
Tian N, Cui W, Zack M, et al. Suicide among people with epilepsy: a population-based analysis of data from the U.S. National Violent Death Reporting System, 17 states, 2003-2011. Epilepsy Behav. 2016;61:210-217.
Mula M, McGonigal A, Micoulaud-Franchi JA, et al. Validation of rapid suicidality screening in epilepsy using the NDDIE. Epilepsia. 2016;57(6):949-955.